Fallen Missouri trooper’s benefits denied to gay partner

The recent death of a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper is putting the rights of same sex couples in Missouri under a microscope. The long-time partner of Corporal Dennis Engelhard believes he should receive death benefits.

43 year old Kelly Glossip says he and Engelhard were together for nearly 15 years. Yet, he says he’s being ignored when it comes to the agencies who normally reach out to the families of fallen law enforcement officers.

“He was my true love and he always referred to me as his one and only true love and the man of his dreams,” Glossip said. “We were hopelessly in love with each other.”

Engelhard was killed on Christmas day while waiting with the driver of a disabled car for a tow truck. He got out of his vehicle and was hit by a passing SUV. It happened on Interstate 44 in Eureka.

Glossip now feels he’s been left out in the cold when it comes to financial benefits normally paid to the families of officers killed in the line of duty. He says he has not been contacted by any of the groups that normally offer those benefits.

John AravosisFollow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Instagram | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the Executive Editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown; and has worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and as a stringer for the Economist. He is a frequent TV pundit, having appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline, AM Joy & Reliable Sources, among others. John lives in Washington, DC. John's article archive.